560 people responded to our poll between 1 Feb – 5 Apr 2019, “What is/would be THE MAIN motivation for you to come to work by bicycle?“.

It turns out, in the end we are just down to Earth practical beings.

Biking is fast.

It is faster than going by car, going by public transport, or walking. Our main motivation to go to work by bike is because we find it is faster than the other modes.

And it supports my personal experience, somehow, I get there on time, in a predictable way when I bike.

And it seems to be public knowledge (at least in Brussels) that it’s only worth to go by car in the weekends – and someone just complained to me that because of all these manifestations, strikes, car-free days and those things like Le Tour de France, even weekends are slow by car.

Then, when I go by public transport, sometimes the metro is not working, or the tram is stuck in an intersection because “everybody wants to go first”, so nobody gets trough. (If you experience this, make a picture and we can publish it in the next newsletter…)

And if we count in the effective speed, biking is up to three times faster in Brussels than the car. Effective speed also factors in how much time we spend by earning the money to pay for that means of transport, and the time spent maintaining it.

The second motivation to go by bike is that is makes as happier as it energises us, and we are conscious about the environment, and we do reduce the carbon footprint.

Health and exercise are on the third place. Although I know from previous EUCG conferences that the health benefits of cycling are substantial – but maybe we focus more on the here and now, to get to that appointment today, than thinking about our life in 20-30 years. But we still do, just not as the most important.

Finally, avoiding the stress of commuting, saving money, and other reasons are only fourth in priority. I have to say, for me these were among the first ones, as the total annual cost of an average size family car is estimated ~€5000/year (including purchase price, service, petrol, and so on).

If you haven’t voted, but want to add your answers, you can do it via this page.

The poll will be open, but we won’t update the results.

[Oliver Kozak]